The Crop Diversity Experiment, established in 2018 at the Aprisco experimental research station, investigates the benefits of crop mixtures on ecosystem services (ES). This long-term study has provided valuable insights into how intercropping affects crop yield, weed suppression, soil biodiversity, and resource use efficiency (Stefan et al. 2021; Engbersen et al. 2021, 2022; Schöb et al. 2023).
Recent findings reveal that repeated intercropping over time can lead to evolutionary adaptation among plant species, further enhancing ecosystem services (Stefan et al. 2022; Schmutz & Schöb 2024). Pilot Study 15 builds on this concept by specifically focusing on the role of legumes in the coevolutionary processes within crop mixtures, and how this affects their contribution to ecosystem functioning.
Specific objectives are:
- Quantify the effect of coevolution between legumes and non-legumes in mixtures on weed suppression.
- Quantify the effect of coevolution on grain yield in legume-based crop mixtures.
- Quantify the effect of coevolution on aboveground biomass production.
- Quantify the impact of coevolution on water use efficiency in intercropped systems.
- Quantify the effect of coevolution on legume protein content.